Self-loading mechanism for vehicles



' J B. VONCANON.

SELF LOADING MECHANISM FOR VEHICLES.

FILED Gm. 26 1921. 3 SHEETSSHEET l INVENTOR James .B. Vazz (@20 0.

A TTORNE Y8 Jam-9,1923; 1,441,314

1 J. B. VONCANON.

SELF LOADING MECHANISM FOR VEHICLES,

FILED Ber. 26. 1921. 3 SHEETS'SHEET 2 nw/mron JamesB. Von Cam o'n,

W/Z/VESSES Jan. 9, 1923. 1,441,314

J. B. VoNCANON SELF LOAEHNG MECHANISM FOR VEHICLES.

FILED OCT. 26. I921 3 SHEETSSHEET 3 WITNESSES l/WE/VTOR JamesB. Von Canon,

ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 9, 1923.

v an NT iremnsnoennrvon canon, or wns r END, NORTH CAROLINA.

SELF-LOADING- MECHANISMQFOR vVEHiCLES. 7

a lication filed October 26,1921. Serial No. 510,570.

To all w ham it may concern:

-Be itknown that I, JAMEs BoBBE'r Von CANON, a citizen of'the United States, and a resident of Nest End, in the county of. la looreiand' State of'North Carolina, have invented certain new andvuseful Improvenientsiin Self-Loading'Mechanism for Ve hicles, of which the following is a specification. I

Mysinvention relates to self-loading ve- .hicles: such as embodied in my Patent. No.

Y 1,397,993, Nov. 22, 1921, and moreparticularly-to the mechanism for loading vehicles "be automatically actuated to successively with comminuted materials such as gravel, sand, and the like.

The purpose of my invention is the provision of a loading mechanism which is applicable to any standard form of dumping vehicle, and which includes endless chains of constantly moving buckets adapted to occupy scooplng, loading and dumping positions atproper intervals to scoop the materialto be loaded from a point beneath the vehicle and to convey such material to and above the vehicle body where it is dumped into the body. My invention further provides a carriagefor supporting the chain of buckets-which is adjustable to vary the scooping position of the buckets so that they may collect materials disposed at different levels beneath the vehicle.

I will describe one form of vehicle arid one form of loading mechanism embodying myinvention and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 isa view showing in side elevation a dumping vehicle having applied thereto one form of loading mechanism em-' bodylng my IIlYBIllJlOIl,

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail perspective view of one of the buckets comprised in the 1 loading mechanism shown in F igure'l.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional View of the bucket shown in Figure 2.

F ibjured is an enlarged perspective view of the carriage comprised in the loading mechanism shown in Figure 1.

Similar reference characters refer to simi- I ".lar parts .in each of the several'views.-

" Referring specifically to the drawings and particularly to Figure 1, I have here shown a "dumping vehicle having a body 13 constructed in a manner similar to the'body of the self-loading vehicle embodied in my ap- I openings to receive portions of the elevating r'nechanism one of the openings being-bordered by a flange or collar F as clearly show'nin Figure'l.

The loading mechanism forming the'subject matter of the. present invention comprises in its present embodiment a carriage designated generally at'K, and which, as shown in Figure at, comprises a U-shaped frame 15 fulcrumed adjacent one end upon a shaft 16 to permit rocking movement thereof througlrthe medium of an actuating lever 17 provided with a sprin'g pressed dog 18 adapted to engage a segmental rack 19 for looking the frame in'any adjusted position. The free ends of theframe'15 carry anaicle20 which works in the slotted upper ends of a pair of bars 21;3Vithin the slots of-the bars '21 expansible' springs 22 are arranged so as to engage the opposite sides of the axle 20 and thus urge "the latter to a pointmedially of the ends of the slots. The lower ends of the bars 21carry pins orbo'lts 23 which work in the-slotted upper ends of bars 2 1,, such pins or bolts" being releasable to allow or": the longitudinal adjustment of the bars "24 to the "bars 2l. -The lower'ends of' t'he bars 24 are formed with ears 24 in which is supported an axle 25. Also connected' to the axle 25 are extensions; '26 formed on the lower ends of a pair of channel bars Amwhich' extend upwardly in the direction of thefrarne 15 where they are provided wit h*other"extensions 27 l formed with bearings 27 which embrace the shaft 16;

In the applied position of the carriage'K upon the body .B of the vehicle, the shaft 16 is journaled 'ina pair of bracketsT supported on the bodyat opposite sides of the flange F. The'frame 15 is arranged above the body by virtue of its mounting on 'the shaft with its free ends extending to the rear endof the body B. The bars 21 and 24 and extend downwardly to a point beneat the chassis C. Thechannel barsAeXtend upwardly through suitable-openings 'for'med 1 means 'of keyed collars 32 as clearly'shown.

shaft 16, a sprocket 29 loosely mounted on the axle 25, and a third sprocket 30 loosely mounted on the axle 20. The sprocket 291s confined at a definite point on the axle 25 by in Figure ii:- The chain N carries at regular spaced intervals a plurality of transversely arranged yokes 33, upon each of which is pivotally sustained a bucket E by means of bolts 3 1 in the manner clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3. Secured to the sides of each bucket at a point adjacent two corners thereof are angle irons which areof such a length as to have portions thereof projecting to the lower side of ,the'bucket as when 'viewedin Figure 2. These angle irons 35 are adapted to work within the channel bars sition, and consequently the arrangement of the channel bars is such that during rotation of the endlesschains, the angle irons of the several buckets successively move into and out of the channel bars during the upward movement of the buckets. i

For actuating the endless chain N, I utilite the engine of the motor vehicle and opv eratively connect the latter to the shaft 16 through the followingmechanism As shown in Figure 1, a shaft 36 is journaled in suitable brackets 37 supported on thebody B, with the forward end of the shaft provided with a chain andsprocket connection to the shaft of the engine as indicated at 38.

This connection is normally ineffective to drive the shaft 36 but is adapted to be operatively connected thereto by means of a clutch 39 operable by a lever 40 arranged in convenient position with respect to the drivers seat of the vehicle. The rearend of the shaft 36 is operatively connected to the shaft 16 through the medium of a worm 41 and a worm gear 4L2;

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, it will be seen that each bucket E is formedwith a forward scooping edge 43 that is arranged on a bias for the purpose of securing a shearing cut as the bucket penetrates the material to beelevated. This preventsthe possibility of the bucket becoming clogged in thematerlal so that the proper operation of the mechanism is insured. I

As shown in Figures 1 and- 1, the axle 25 pivotally supportsat its opposite ends a pair 'of extension 14 formed on a pair of shoes S,-such extension being locked against displacement 011 the axle by means of collars j 45. As shown in Figure 4, the confronting sides of the shoes S are formed with flanges material from the buckets. the flanges, the buckets are maintained in leading position by the angle irons 35 mov- A for sustaining the bucket in upright 130- H that the shoes S are disposed at the, rear of .Jthe material.

By an actuation of the clutch 39, the chain N and the buckets E are set in motion so to continuously move in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figure" 1. .As the buckets move downwardly into engagement with the guide flanges 46-of the shoes S, they scoop the material to be loaded,

and during such operation the flanges 46 function to move the buckets to scooping 30- ,sition whence they are filled and then to loading position to prevent discharge of the After leaving ing into the channel bars A so that during the upward movement of the buckets vthey are maintained in loading position until the angle irons pass out of the channel bars which is at a point directly above the flange F; At this instant the material contained in the buckets serves to gravitate the latter to a dumping position as clear-l shown in Fi ure 1 which'is ermitt-ed by virtue of thepivotal mounting of the buckets. Withthe buckets in dumping position, the: material is deposited into the body B of the vehicle. 'During the continued movement of the buckets upwardly over the sprocket 28, they are thrown under the action of the centrifugal force created by. the rapid movement of the buckets around the sprocket to such a position that the angle irons aredisposedin parallelism to the chain N. After leaving the sprocket 29, the buckets E are maintained inthe position just described so that they are again in position to effect the scooping of the, material as they pass between the shoes S,

If, during the operation ofthe mechanism,

it is found necessary to, re-position the shoes S in thepathof travel of the buckets in order to effectively scoop the material, the entireinechanism can be shifted to the position desired through a manipulation of the lever 17.

the rear end'of the frame 15 is effected, the

latter swinging about the shaft 16 as a center. F/Vhen the rear end of the frame 15 is moved upwardly; or downwardly, asimilar' movementgof the shoes S takes "place,

By moving the lever 17 upwardly or downwardly,a corresponding movement of the shoes and adjacent parts can be elevated at distance suflicient to permit of free movement of th'evehicle over the ground without the latterengaging the mechanism.

mitted so that should the shoes engage an impassable obstacle such as a stone orthe like they can move upwardly a distance sufficient to mo-ve over'the obstacle. The adjustability of thebars 21 and 24; permits an adjustment of the carriage to take up any slack in the chain N, while the pivotal mounting of the shoes allows them to conform to any irregularity or unevenness in the material overwhich they are moving.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of loadingmechanism embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications maybe made herein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

VVhat I claim is: i

1. In combination, a vehicle and a self loading mechanism on said vehicle comprising an adjustable carriage, an endless chain movably supported on the carriage, a plurality of buckets mounted on the chain to occupy loading and dumping positions and normally occupy dumping posit-ions, coacting means on the buckets and on said carriage for causing the buckets to occupy loading position during upward travel of the buckets to a predetermined point and then dumping position, and means for adjusting the carriage to cause the loading mechanism to occupy various positions with respect to the vehicle and shoes supported on the carriage having flanges arranged to be engaged by the buckets for moving the latter to scooping position and subsequently to loading posltion.

2. In combination, a vehicle, and a selfloading mechanism on said vehicle, comprising an adjustable carriage including channel bars, a chain mounted for continuous movement around the carriage, a plurality of buckets pivotally supported. on the chain to occupy scooping, dumping and loading positions and normally occupying dumping positions, angle irons secured to the buckets and adapted to slidably engage said chan-- nel bars for maintaining the buckets in loading positions for a portion of their upward travel from the carriage, means supported on the carriage for moving the buckets to scooping and subsequently into loading positions and means for adjusting the carriage to cause the loading mechanism to occupy various positions with respect to the vehicle and shoes supported on the carriage having flanges arranged to be engaged by the buckets for moving the lattento scooping position and subsequently to loading position.

A self-loading mechanism for vehicles comprising a carriage including channel bars, a chain" mounted for continuous movement around the carriage, a plurality of buckets pivotally supported on the chain to occupy scooping, dumping and loading positions and normally occupying dumping positions, angle irons secured to the buckets and adapted to slidably engage said channel bars for maintaining the buckets in loading positions for a portion of their upward travel from the carriage, and shoes supported on the carriage having flanges arranged to be engaged by the buckets for moving the latter to scooping positions and subsequently to loading positions. I

4. In combination, a vehicle including a body including a carriage adjustably supported entire body and having channelbars extending through the body, an endless chain mounted for'movement around the carriage,

' a. plurality ofbuckets pivotally supported on the chain and capable of occupying scooping,

loadingand' dumping positions and normally occupying dumping positions, angle irons secured to the buckets and adapted to travel through said channel bars for maintaining the buckets in loading positions when loaded,

and shoes pivotally-supported at the lower end of the frame to occupy various positions to facilitate the collecting of material, said shoes being formed with concaved flanges adapted to move the buckets to scooping po sitions and subsequently to loading positions.

5. A loading mechanism for vehicles comprising a carria e including a frame adapted to be mounted or pivotal movement, extensible bars resiliently and pivotally supported on the frame, a pair of channel bars pivotally connected to the frame and to said bars, shoes supported on the lower end of the frame for pivotal movement, a chain mounted for movement around the frame, buckets pivotally supported on the frame to occupy dumping, loading and scooping po sitions, and normally occupying dumping positions, angle irons carried by the buckets adapted to move through said channel bars to maintain the buckets in loading position, and flanges formed on the shoes and adapted to engage said buckets for moving the latter to scooping position and subsequently to loading position.

6. In combination, a motor vehicleincluding a body formed with openings and a shaft supported above the body and adapted to be operatively connected to the motor of the vehicle, and a loading mechanism comprising a carriage including a frame pivotally supported on said shaft and extending to the rear of said body, a shaft carried by the rear end of said frame, extensible bars resiliently supported on said shaft and extending to a point beneath. and in the rear of said body, a second shaft carried by the lower ends of said bars, channel bars extending through the openings of said body and pivotally connected to the body shaft and to said second shaft, sprockets on all ofsaid shafts, a chain trained about said sprockets, bucket-s pivotally connected to said chain to occupy scooping, loading and dumping positions, and normally occupying dumping positions, angle irons carried by the buckets and adapted to move through said channel bars to maintain said buckets in loading positions, shoes pivotally supported on said second shaft and having flanges adapted to engage said buckets for moving the latter to scooping positions and subsequently to loading positions and coacting means supported on said body and connected to said frame for adjusting said carriage to cause the loading mechanism to occupy various positions with respect to the vehicle. 1 i

7. In combinatioma'motor vehicle including a body formed with openings and a shaft supported above the body and adapted to -be operatively connected to the motor of the scribed.

vehicle, and a loading mechanism comprising a carriage including a frame pivotally supportedron said shaft and extending to and pivotally connected to the body shaft and to said chain to occupy scooping, loading and dumping positions, and normally occupying dumping positions, angle irons carried by the buckets and adapted to move throughsaid channel bars to maintain said buckets in loading positions, shoes pivotally supported on said second shaft and having flanges adapted to engagesaid buckets for moving the latter to scooping positions and subsequently to loading positions, a rack bar supported on the body, and a lever connected to said frame and having a pawl engageable with said rack bar "for the purpose de- JAMES BOBBE-T. voN CANON. 

